Portion of Dixie Highway to honor Navy corpsmen

World War II Veteran Dan Daniel will be among state and local dignitaries when a section of U.S. 25, or Dixie Highway, in Fort Wright is dedicated in honor of all U.S. Navy hospital corpsmen who have served since 1775.(Photo: Amy Scalf/The Community Recorder)Buy Photo

FORT WRIGHT – Navy corpsmen like Charles "Dan" Daniel weren't given weapons in World War II. Instead, their role was to protect the health and safety of fellow shipmates and Marines on the battlefield.

More recently, the 90-year-old retired hospital administrator has gotten used to fighting.

Daniel has spent the past two years battling to honor the memories of those largely unsung heroes.

He will be present, along with local and state dignitaries, when a section of U.S. 25, or Dixie Highway, is dedicated as the U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman Highway on Wednesday, Sept. 3.

He said the dedication was only possible with help from state Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Taylor Mill; state Rep. Diane St. Onge, R-Lakeside Park; and Nancy Wood, public information officer for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 6.

"Across the country, here and there, are memorials to individual corpsmen, but there is no national monument dedicated to all hospital corpsmen," said Daniel. "Not until now."

Approximately a half mile of Dixie Highway, from near Hilton Drive southward to Rivard Drive, will be dedicated to honor all Navy hospital corpsmen who have served since 1775.

According to Daniel, Navy corpsmen have earned 22 Medals of Honor, 174 Navy Crosses, 946 Silver Stars, 1,582 Bronze Stars and more than 6,000 Purple Hearts since the United States became an independent country, making hospital corpsman the most decorated rate in the U.S. Navy and the Navy Hospital Corps the most decorated corps of any service in World War II, based on percentage of personnel.

"Anywhere a Marine is in danger, a Navy Corpsman is there," said Daniel. "Corpsmen are the most decorated, most awarded and most ignored in all of the United States military. That really got to me."

"It's staggering, honestly, to hear how many unarmed corpsman in the medical field lost their lives in war over time," said Fort Wright Mayor Joe Nienaber Jr. "They've never had a lot of recognition and I think Fort Wright should be proud to have a section of the state highway dedicated in their memory. Seldom do they get recognized anywhere."

"Everyone who served as a corpsman, to me, is a hero," said Daniel. "They put themselves between their patient and the line of fire. You'll find that many corpsmen were shot in the back while treating an injured Marine. That sure sounds like a hero to me."